1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to means for attaching shovels and other working implements to backhoes and similar equipment and, more particularly, to a novel attachment means that provides for rapid and secure attachment of such implements.
2. Background Art
Backhoes, excavators, front end loaders, and similar equipment must be equipped with means for attaching working implements such as shovels, concrete breakers, buckets, and blades, to a movable boom. Conventionally, such attachment is by means of bolts, pins, and/or shafts which require a fairly long time for a mechanic to install. Frequently, because of worn, damaged, or otherwise misfitting parts, the mechanic must take the additional time to provide shims between mating parts to accommodate the misfit.
Some attempts have been made to provide more rapid means of attachment, but these typically have many parts, generally are relatively expensive, and some do not adequately secure the mating parts. Many do not adequately compensate for wear.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for rapid attachment of working implements to backhoes or the like.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide such a mechanism that is simple and economically constructed.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a mechanism that can automatically accommodate a relatively high degree of wear of, or otherwise misfit between, the mating parts.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a mechanism that can be easily retrofitted to existing equipment.
Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.